Concerned About School Board's DEI Resolution
To the Editor:
A response: the Board of Education's public participation guidelines are just that, guidelines to keep a public meeting on an even keel, to keep the discourse productive, with information, opinions, grievances shared in a civil atmosphere.
The article in last week's (January 28) issue of The Newtown Bee (Page 1) provides an excellent, thoughtful read by BOE Chair Deborra Zukowski detailing her thinking, clearly and completely, with rationale.
Sometimes things can and do get heated but usually cool down soon enough.
In today's social and business relationships, constructive dialogue, patience, calm, and well-formed discussions gain ground fostering good reasoning and listening — moving things forward in a successful direction and hopefully to the majority's acceptance.
Good for a town of good character.
In particular, however, this writer worries that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resolution adopted by the previous board (summer 2021) could be leading our schools down an undemocratic path — the proverbial slippery slope — in the wrong direction. Maybe affirmative action intentions they didn't realize exist therein.
And doesn't the 6th Amendment suggest to us that even in local issues, the accused has a right to know the accuser and the accusation, thereby placing the adopted resolution in a bad light when it offers "an anonymous alert app to quantify reported incidents."
Think about it.
Elizabeth Lincoln
Newtown
Clearer heads who run the BoE should now strike this resolution.
Not to put to fine a point on it, but the 6th Amendment only applies to Courts and legal proceedings. Anonymous screeds have been part and parcel of American Political Discourse since Jay, Madison, and Hamilton wrote The Federalist Papers under the name “Publius”.
However, the 1st Amendment does require unfettered access to “Petition for the Redress of Grievance”.
Editor’s note: According to Cornell Law, the First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay, the right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you.